Friday, March 30, 2012

I had fun today figuring out how to use the brad nailer and air compressor. I remember when my dad bought his air compressor many years ago--it was a few hundred bucks. I got a refurbished one for about $40 or so on Amazon.com. Since we have Amazon Prime, two-day shipping was free!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

I'm using my hiatus from the work force to take care of projects around the house. Things I've been wanting to do for a while and haven't had time. Here's the first project, a pair of benches made from a tutorial I found on Pinterest, which was a knock off of a Ballard Designs upholstered bench.

We needed more seating in our family room, and I wanted a couple of benches that would fit neatly into specific spaces. Here's what I came up with:

I purchased legs from the Home Depot as well as Lowe's. They are pine and were about $10 each. I stained them with Minwax Jacobean and sealed them with a satin polyurethane:

The blogger who inspired me to do this used MDF for the seat, which I don't see how that would hold an adult. I used 3/4" plywood instead. One large sheet was enough for a couple of benches, plus plenty of leftovers.

Another project I am planning is this console:

This will go in the foyer by the front door. The space is empty and we just need something there. I'll be grouping it with a mirror from the old house and some kind of non-breakable accessories (since we have both a cat and a toddler).